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After the Senators defeated the Buffalo Sabres in the 2007 Eastern Conference final, literally thousands of people showed up at Ottawa Airport on a pleasant Saturday evening to give them a hero's welcome home.

And rightfully so. The immediate future was bright, with a decent chance to defeat the Anaheim Ducks for Ottawa's first Stanley Cup in eight decades. And so was the long-term picture. Led by a 23-year old Jason Spezza and a 25-year old Dany Heatley, the Senators had an identity. They were an offensive juggernaut. And with Daniel Alfredsson, Dean McAmmond and goalie Martin Gerber the only players over 30, they promised to be a contender for years.

Promise, however, as since turned into semi-annual heartbreak.

When they flew in from Pittsburgh following their fifth straight win Sunday night, the Senators were greeted by three fans standing in the rain, wearing the team's jersey and waving team flags. Kinda pathetic, really, but also fitting. Despite the victory, they had missed the playoffs for the third time since that trip to the finals.

Their identity now? Who knows. They're still relatively young. Offensive? Mostly in the way they play defence. Promising? Perhaps, but then some picked them to challenge for that Eastern championship again this season. And 10 teams in the conference were better.

Now, solid cases can be made for them to trade Spezza and extend him, to fire coach Paul MacLean and to keep him, to make major changes and to merely tinker.

One thing is for sure -- if they don't protect their own zone any better next season than they did this season, they'll miss out on the playoffs for the fourth time in seven years next spring. And if that's the case their plane can just keep flying on by after Game 82.

GARBAGE (BAG) DAY

Every single Senator was obviously "disappointed" in the way the season went, so we'll spare you those quotes. And every single one that was asked had nothing but good words about MacLean, but what were they supposed to say? MacLean himself claimed he was more "demanding" this season. Either the players couldn't or wouldn't meet his demands. MacLean said the system will be "tweaked" next season as the Senators try to cut back on goals against by 50 ... The one Senator who has made the steadiest progress in the last two season is Kyle Turris, who led the team this season with 26 goals and a plus-22 rating. Turris will have heavy duties as the No. 1 centre next season should Jason Spezza be moved. Is he ready for them? "I don't look at it like that," he said. "Every game I approach like I'm going to play my best, it's going to be my best game of the year, whether it's the No. 1, 2, 3 or 4 centre. I'm just going to try and play at the same compete level and work ethic and hopefully contribute as much as I can." The Senators would be a pretty good team if Turris was their No. 4 centre, wouldn't they? Asked if he can hit the 30 goal plateau in 2014-14, Turris said: "I'm always trying to improve, whether it's 30 goals or 27. If it's 20 and we make the playoffs, I'm real happy with that. It's something that whatever we need, I'll try to do." ...

REFLECTIONS AND DEFLECTIONS

The TV networks had to beep out a couple of curse words he casually dropped into the conversation, but Erik Karlsson also made the clear point that he has to be more "consistent" next season. "I think that was one of my biggest issues this year. I haven't been consistent enough for a long period of time, and haven't really felt the way I wanted to," he said. "That's something I'm going to have to address this summer." Prediction: Karlsson, who led the Senators with 74 points (including 20 goals) but was a minus-16, will get to 90 points and will once again be a plus-player in 2014-15 ... Also looking in the mirror this summer will be Zack Smith. "I need to be better," said the third line centre. "I don't think guys individually can tell themselves they had good years. When it comes down to it, everyone has to be better. Putting it on other guys, you're not getting anywhere. I finished minus-9 on the year. I consider myself a shutdown guy, and that's not a good number. I want to put up better numbers. I want to help the team offensively, but at the same time I need to continue getting better at my role as a defensive player. that's what I'm hoping to work on." Smith could help himself by playing with more of a mean streak ... Jared Cowen missed the final eight games with a hip flexor, but not on the hip he had surgically repaired. "It was common muscle strain, I've never had one of those in my career," he said. Going forward, Cowen wants to have a bigger role in the Senators leadership. "As a team we weren't as good as we wanted to be, and I felt like I was a major contributor to not playing as well as we should, in terms of defence," he said.

THIS AND THAT

Craig Anderson, do you want to renegotiate an extension over the summer or are you good going into the final season of your contract? "This is the first time I've even thought about it," said Anderson. "It's not even on my mind right now. First and foremost, you play hockey and contracts are contracts, I don't handle those, so it's not up to me." Do you see yourself with this team in the future? "I 100 percent see myself with this team," said Anderson ... Chris Neil fell 2:48 shy of being the 2013-14 NHL penalty minutes leader. Vancouver's Tom Sestito passed him by two minutes when he took a misconduct at 17:12 of the third period in the last game of the season. Neil did finish second. ... According to his Twitter account, Gatineau Olympiques winger Vincent Dunn has been signed by the Senators and is on his way to Binghamton. Dunn, Ottawa's fifth round choice in 2013, had 31 goals, 20 assists and 156 PIMs this season for Gatineau.

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Ottawa Senators' seven years of lost promise

After the Senators defeated the Buffalo Sabres in the 2007 Eastern Conference final, literally thousands of people showed up at Ottawa Airport on a pleasant Saturday evening to give them a hero's welcome home.

And rightfully so. The immediate future was bright, with a decent chance to defeat the Anaheim Ducks for Ottawa's first Stanley Cup in eight decades. And so was the long-term picture. Led by a 23-year old Jason Spezza and a 25-year old Dany Heatley, the Senators had an identity. They were an offensive juggernaut. And with Daniel Alfredsson, Dean McAmmond and goalie Martin Gerber the only players over 30, they promised to be a contender for years.